Thoughts on a marketplace website startup

[poorentrepreneur]

I am thinking of starting up a business. Basically without giving away my unique selling point imagine and Ebay or similar. However, it is in no way a competitor to Ebay or any other site I have seen.

I think my idea is good. It will take me a lot of planning and logistics to organise all the pages and rules for the website and its users etc

The problem is I know absolutely nothing about creating a website. Is it safe to go to web design companies with all my information and get them to design it? How much can I expect to pay $5,000-$10,000?

I also will require some kind of marketing, again this is not my forte, how much should I spend on this etc?

I feel like the idea is going to work, however I have no skills in these areas of website design, marketing et al, this is what is worrying me.

Any ideas?

[akula]

...yea..hi

what problem is your solution solving?

[poorentrepreneur]

world hunger

[poorentrepreneur]

Actually it is a common problem with shopping that is solved. If I were to tell you what problem I was going to solve is, then it would be exposing my idea somewhat. Maybe I'm paranoid.

Let's just say it is not a complex problem, it's a very simple idea that it seems there is no or limited competition. The only competition I have seen is not being taken advantage of as the competitor has a different business strategy and agenda.

If there is other competition, then they are not very easy to find online.

[akula]

yea..paranoia is one thing..the bigger issue is that you are not able to quantify the problem that you are solving..likewise, because "there is no competition", it is most likely that there is no problem. in other words, i'm worried that your idea is a solution in search of a anon existent problem, which is no good.
you have to do better

[arbsn]

I agree with Akula.

Facebook Marketplace and applications of the same function along with websites like BigCartel render this business idea moot.

I don't suggest investing personal equity into web design for an e-commerce website.

[poorentrepreneur]

OK Akula, so say the problem is lack of time and ill fitting clothes. With my site I am saving people time, money and reducing wastage.

Unfortunately I am not sure I understand arbsn what you mean? Like I mentioned I am tech unsavy. Are you saying I should use facebook for my business? I don't understand how you render a business idea moot, before knowing what it is?

[akula]

yea..sure..
let's go point by point

1. the starting point of entrepreneurship is opportunity selection and the starting point of opportunity selection is problem definition
if you don't understand what this is, you need to read a text book on entrepreneurship, or watch videos published by entrepreneurship educators
e.g. Stanford's Entrepreneurship Corner: Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures - Any Big Problem is a Big Opportunity

2. my job on this board is to help you practice entrepreneurship be telling you what mistakes you should avoid. the most important mistake made by founders is starting businesses which should never have been started. businesses which should not be started are those which do not solve an identifiable and quantifiable problem.

3. An example of problem definition is this:

"There are 5 million females between the ages of 17 and 35 in Hong Kong area. Collectively, these women spend about 5 billion dollars annually on buying clothes. Up to 50% of this amount is wasted because the clothes are ill fitting. For an average women, this equates to $500 of wasted disposable income annually. An average woman in Hong Kong has over $2,000 worth of clothes in her wordrobe which she has worn only once. Our solution helps women find better fitting clothes, it costs $100 per year and saves customers up to $500 a year".

All of these figures are made up..bu the principle is the same: you need to identify who exactly is experiencing the problem that you are solving, what that problem is and how much this problem is costing your prospects. Once you know how much the problem costs, then you can decide how much to sell your solution for. If you cannot identify and quantify the problem, you will end up selling the wrong solution, to the wrong people, at the wrong price and using the wrong marketing message.

So, what problem are you solving?

I am not interested in your solution at this stage. I am interested if you can identify the problem that your solution is supposed to be solving.

[daveb1]

i guess you can use some legal means to ensure that your idea is copyrighted and the contracted web design company cannot steal it from you

[poorentrepreneur]

Akula:
Maybe the better way to describe the problem for you is that, mass produced clothes are made for the masses. They are not made for the individual. The clothes produced by these companies do not take into consideration your personal body shape and symetry. Therefore people spend countless hours shopping for clothes and 1. finding what they want after lengthy excursions 2. Finding a compromise (style, colour, shape not 100% what they wanted and then not wearing it as often as they would if there was no compromise) 3. Not purchasing anything.

The numerical value associated with how much it costs a person is, I believe intangible, how do you put a price a dress that costs $70 that is worn once? how much more is it worth if someone wears it thirty times? It is worth more to the person who owns the dress if they wear it more, but less to another if has been worn more.

I completely understand all that you have written and appreciate your comments. However my original post was not necessarily aimed at asking people what you think of my business. I was asking what to expect from web designers and how to protect my business idea and general costs involved.

"The problem is I know absolutely nothing about creating a website. Is it safe to go to web design companies with all my information and get them to design it? How much can I expect to pay $5,000-$10,000?

I also will require some kind of marketing, again this is not my forte, how much should I spend on this etc?"


So thank-you daveb1 for addressing the purpose of my post.

[alibom]

Akula:

"The problem is I know absolutely nothing about creating a website. Is it safe to go to web design companies with all my information and get them to design it? How much can I expect to pay $5,000-$10,000?

I also will require some kind of marketing, again this is not my forte, how much should I spend on this etc?"

can you talk more about your idea,
I can help you implement your idea, analysis, design and implementing your idea
you can contact with me by email
bang @ ben2ben.com

[akula]

I was asking what to expect from web designers and how to protect my business idea and general costs involved.

"The problem is I know absolutely nothing about creating a website. Is it safe to go to web design companies with all my information and get them to design it? How much can I expect to pay $5,000-$10,000?

yeah sure..let's go point by point

1. The problem is I know absolutely nothing about creating a website. Is it safe to go to web design companies with all my information and get them to design it? How much can I expect to pay $5,000-$10,000?

in most cases, you shouldn't expact to pay anything.
web dev is mostly based on content management systems nowadays
you can log onto a website like Free Blog Factory - Custom Wordpress Blogs for FREE! and create a beautiful e-commerce website for free...your only expenses will be the domain name and hosting, both of which are under $10

however, if you want a custom database/application created for you, the custome work should cost under $1k. mostly you can use websites like rentacoder.com to hire someone from india and get everything coded for very little money.

2. how to protect my business idea

a business "idea" is not a kind of property right, therefore you can't "protect it"
on another hand, copyright, registrered designs, trade secrets and patents etc are a kind of prepoerty right, and therefore can hypothetically be "protected" if you have the money to litigate with people..but in the scheme of things, this is all bullshit
what you're really asking about when you ask about "protecting my idea" is "how can I protect the profits"
the only answer to that is "contractual rights"
in other words, you need to sign up distributors to contractual terms which guarantee stability, exclusiovity and ongoing profits for your venture. that's the only legal way to do it. the other way is "brand equity". basically, if you have a good reputation amongst consumes, then they won't switch from you to other competitors.

finally, what you need to realise is that everyone has a right to make a living. therefore, the law will not grant you a monopoly in most cases. monopolies are unconscionable.

and that's the crux of it..

however, none of these questions you raise are in any way relevant or helpful for you becoming a successful business person

what you need to do is ask different questions, such as "how do I get the motherfucking venture off the ground?"

[poorentrepreneur]

Akula, Thanks!

Question: How do I get this motherfucking venture off the ground!? haha

[akula]

sure...

there is a standard method that you should follow to get this venture off the ground.
there are 3 steps in total.
if you follow the steps, everything will be ok. if you miss one step or screw up the order of steps, then you will fail.

step 1:
- survey your target market. send out questionnaires to your prospects asking questions like: "how much do you spend on clothes?" "how important is it for you to get the right size?" "how often do you get the wrong size?" would you try a solution that helps you get the right size".
the end result of this step is that you should have a stack of papers on your desk listing about 50-100 people who are willing to pay in order to try your solution

step 2:
- go a web developer and say "look, here is a stack of people who will pay me to use the solution. I want you to make the solution for me and sell it to me on credit. I'll have the money to pay you back. look at the questionnaires, they are proof that I'll have the money".

step 3:
- the developer builds you the solution. you email the prospects that have said that they'll try your solution. the prospects pay you to solve their problem. you collect the money, pay the developer and reinvest profits in growth.

bam, your venture is off the ground.

right now however, you are trying to do step 2 (i.e. developing the solution) without doing step 1 (i.e. identifying the problem). if you continue down this path what's gonna happen is this: you are gonna build your solution, then you are gonna show it to customers, the customers will say "this is bullshit, this is not what we want, fix it", then you will go to the developer and the developer will say "I need more money", by this stage you will already be too tired and you will quit.

[poorentrepreneur]

Sorry for the delay in replying, thanks!